Mitrofanov Oleg
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974, USA.
Appl Opt. 2003 May 10;42(14):2526-31. doi: 10.1364/ao.42.002526.
We describe an optical detection scheme that reduces laser excess noise in measurements of small optical phase shifts. The scheme improves the sensitivity of the balanced differential detection. Analysis of the scheme and comparison with the conventional detection are presented. The scheme is applied in electro-optic probing of electrical signals in integrated circuits, where the excess laser noise is reduced by approximately 20 dB.